The Art of Confrontation
by Ghostwriter155
Summary: Mileena and Kitana engage in conversation. Baraka implied. Post Deadly Alliance Au. Oneshot.


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First Things First (_The disclaimer_): As I have said in my previous stories I do no own any of the characters that I am using for this tale. I don't own the rights to the game. Midway Games and the designers of the game do.

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Mondays are the worst of all, no? It's like the whip to the long dead horse or a pardon to a long executed prisoner. Ironic, useless, but it somehow it can be very sad and painful. I've been particularly interested in Mileena and Kitana lately and this was written as a response to another bleak, depressing Monday. This might stand on its' own as a one-shot or it might evolve into an angst story involving various characters. It's more emotional than action packed, so if you are not into that kind of thing it's not too late to turn back. (You have been warned!) It's slightly AU for I've (Elder God's Forbid) messed around with the story line of the Mortal Kombat games. The story follows the fall of the Deadly Alliance. That will be touched since it is about the sad aftermath of the battles and the sorrows of who is left in its wake. It seems to me that I can only write sad and "deep-stuff" when I'm depressed or angry. I can't decide which I'm feeling. I'm probably boring you to death so without further adieu on with the show……

**__**

I woke up and called this morning,  
the tone of your voice was a warning  
that you don't care for me anymore.  
  
**_I made up the bed we sleep in.  
I looked at the clock when you creep in.  
It's 6 AM and I'm alone._**  
  
**_Did you know when you go it's the perfect ending,  
to the bad day I was just beginning.  
When you go, all I know is you're my favorite mistake._**  
  
**_Your friends act sorry for me.  
They watch you pretend to adore me.  
But I am no fool to this game._**  
  
**_Now here comes your secret lover,  
she'll be unlike any other,  
until your guilt goes up in flames._**  
  
**_Did you know when you go it's the perfect ending,  
to the bad day I'd gotten used to spending.  
When you go, all I know is you're my favorite mistake  
You're my favorite mistake._**  
  
**_Well maybe nothing lasts forever,  
even when you stay together.  
I don't need forever after, but it's your laughter won't let me go  
so I'm holding on this way._**  
  
**_Did you know could you tell you were the only one  
that I ever loved?  
Now everything's so wrong.  
Did you see me walking by; did it ever make you cry?  
Now you're my favorite mistake  
Yeah you're my favorite mistake  
You're my favorite mistake _**

-Sheryl Crow,

My Favorite Mistake

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(The song reflects Mileena's attitude towards Kitana as well as Baraka in my opinion. Some of the lyrics don't exactly fit with the story, but I believe in letting the song stand in its' entirety)

***

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"Did you really expect me to die that easily, **lover**?"

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***

It was surprisingly bright outside despite the fact that it was well past midnight, the witching hour. Despite them warmth of the night air I shivered, and it probably had nothing to do with the temperature at all. I hardly noticed the scenery around me; it was just a blur around my clouded mind. I knew the courtyard by heart now; its once flowering plants were now dead, hanging randomly swinging in the wind, and on top of all that, dried up. For some reason no one had bothered to clean them up, and how long they had been there was anyone's guess. The once fancy concrete statues of fallen leaders, heroes, and the tall arches of the royal courtyard were now in various stages of crumbling and falling down to the hard, unforgiving ground. The state of the whole palace and the grounds that it stood on mirrored the own state of my life. The disrepair of my life had not just suddenly occurred, but rather it had happened slowly over time, like drops of water hitting the same thing for almost eternity before they had acquired a dent in them. It had been a combination of different "drops" that hit my innermost feelings, 

leaving them dissolved by a powerful solvent that had slowly chewed away at them, like a fly on the bodies of the people decapitated by the executioners that now were the statues that I had stood near every-night in thought but never really noticed. When you get caught up in something the foreground fades away into oblivion.

I suppose that the Black Palace wasn't exactly the right setting for me to try to de-tangle, if you will, the webs that had been woven into my life, for most of the problems that I had stemmed from that very building. It is kind of impossible to solve your life's problems when you live in the problem yourself. I came to the courtyard to feel detached from the palace and it's evil, but it still remained my home for some strange reason. With all its' faults, it remained my home. Sentimentality still remains something that makes me severely ill though. 

I can clearly remember standing with my back to the palace and its winding staircase with my hands on my frozen shoulders. I wore a black cloak but the stubborn air still managed to seep through the thick velvet hitting my protesting body. The strong wind blew my black hair to one side and I stood there for the longest time in the moonlight not really thinking about much of anything, when something peculiar happened. I felt someone coming through the air, not that I needed to turn around to see who was coming. When I took a deep breath of the cool air I could see a much clearer image of the figure. She was coming down the stairs slowly; her hair flapping in the opposite direction of mine, away from her face, despite how impossible that was, since we were both facing the same direction. If anyone could achieve the impossible it was Kitana. I closed my eyes and I could feel her, see her deliberately regal walk, her head held high, and her brown eyes burning with some hidden spark of light. Her eyes were the only part of her besides her stance that had withstood the trials of her life unscathed and kept her beautiful and radiant. I could feel how tired she was and knew that she had been missing sleep. I could "feel" the dark smudges under her eyes, and I knew they mirrored my own tired eyes. She just needed time to recuperate, to be as she had been, strong and beautiful, as did I, but I knew that time would come in-between now and never. It was always something. It was always an evil general, pillaging warlord, or a missing portal. How a portal could just have grown legs and disappeared I did not know. To this day I still don't know, but it is pointless to ask such questions. I learned to stop questioning those things long ago since a true and satisfying answer can never be given. Sometimes these things just happen regardless of a reason.

I could even smell her perfume. She didn't actually wear perfume but it sure smelled like it. Maybe it was because tonight she seemed like the autumn night itself, cold and secretive, but surprisingly warm and brilliant during the day. She had the fragrance of autumn as well: the smell of cold air in the black frigid night and fire to keep your bones warm by. It was strong but not unpleasant.

I sighed but did not turn to face her. She was used to people facing her as soon as she approached, but I was not willing to give her the upper hand. If she wanted to face me she would have to walk around my unmoving frame to see eye to eye with me. I could be just as stubborn as she could since we used to be as close as blade hitting blade, causing sparks to fly in all direction during a feverish sword fight. I could honestly say that I had missed our understanding of each other, but I knew that some fragile things could never be fixed, love being one of them. It was always eerie to speak with my sister since we were the same height and saw each other at perfect eye level, but somehow in conversations and arguments she always seemed taller; like she was towering over me. I knew that the only reason that she appeared to be was taller was the fact that she was almost always on the defensive in any argument, and those taking the defense needed to steel themselves for rebuttal to make them seem more intimidating. My twin had learned the art of confrontation. Over the years our fights and joint-sorrows had turned us into the poster children for debate and hidden feelings. I released the breath that I had not realized I had been holding and braced myself for what ever she might say to me.

***

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"Did you really think I would die that easily, **lover**?"

I strode slowly and menacingly towards him; sai's gleaming under the harvest moon. He recoiled from me but I kept advancing getting closer and closer and…

***

"I thought I'd find you here." It was spoken in a soft tone, but I knew what it truly meant: "I _knew_ you would be here." I simply shrugged my shoulders but said nothing. Two could play this dismissive, vague game of who could push whose buttons the fastest.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when my only family would become predictable enough to stand in the same place every day." 

I bit my tongue to keep the barb from springing forth from my larynx and answered simply; "You better believe it, your highness." 

I couldn't see her face, since she was talking to the back of my head, but I knew calling her a pleasantry or any title would boil her blood. I wished that I could see the scowl that I knew was on her pretty face. Score: Mileena 1, Kitana 0. I wondered just how long the game would last this time. It probably wouldn't conclude until feelings were bruised and tempers flared. Our "civilized discussions" often lasted until both parties didn't want to play the game anymore. We played until it wasn't even a game anymore but a trial of wits and mental strength. We never bruised bodies, for that was only temporary, but wounds sustained to the being and the mind last long after death. We stood in a pressing silence before I spoke frankly with a bite: 

"Sister if you have something to speak of, then say your peace and leave. I wouldn't want to waste your precious time, even at this time of night."

" Is there something wrong with a concerned sibling checking on their only sister?"

"Kitana, when you "check" on me it's only when you want something or can improve your status."

I paused for a moment and she wanted to protest, I knew even though she still was not facing me. Even with our strained relationship we still could tell what the other was thinking, it had been that way since Shao Khan created me. I grimaced inwardly and hoped Kitana didn't notice, but that prayer was in vain of course, as all thoughts around her were unprotected, but she let me continue without interruption. 

"You don't care about me the way you used to, you've changed too much for you to care about anything but your crown and so called self-righteous missions." She opened her mouth to speak in anger but I wasn't even getting started with my impromptu speech.

"You've gotten so caught up in your pursuit of deciphering and separating right from wrong that you're blind to what's going in around you!"

I didn't even consider or think about the words that came out of my mouth next, or I probably wouldn't have said them for how close to it hit to home, but they just sprang forth uncontrollably: 

"That's why, **_sweet sister_** the Alliance killed Liu Kang, **_the Chosen One_**!" 

Silence. No response at all, not a retort or barb, just painful, constricting silence that pressed against my ears. It hadn't been her fault that Quan Chi had teamed up with Shang Tsung and killed Kang, taking his soul. The alliance and the threat of the dragon king were long since gone and the souls had been set free, including her deceased lover. She had lost many people, and had suffered many pains during the wars and her life, but so had I, _dying_ being one of them as if anyone had ever bothered to notice, except maybe _him_, but that was a million miles and a thousand years ago. I hoped that I had just gone deaf, that she was speaking and I was just not able to hear. The game had become too dangerous. Tempers had flared hotter than the lapping flames found in Hell. I closed my eyes and took a breath praying that she would say something, anything would do at all. At that moment she could have rambled on how much she hated me and it would have been a beautiful speech that touched my cold heart. I had expected her to turn and walk away but I was anything but prepared for the un-princess like screech that came next:

"Mileena if you think that's bad, you were so caught up in blind love for **_Baraka_** that you never even saw it coming when he killed you!" 

My mouth moved up and down, but nothing came out as the words truly sank in. I couldn't believe that she had said that. My own understanding twin sister, _my_ twin. My flesh and blood. Without her I would not even exist at all. I felt as if she had betrayed me again. Didn't she know how that pained me so? As much as I had deserved the stinging rebuke it still stung. My insides and mind burned as if they were on fire and I acted instinctively. I faced my verbal attacker that had dared to say his name with such vile and contempt. I spun around quickly and started to speak but then paused in surprise, since I caught myself in the act of being a hypocrite. _Damn it! _I had promised myself that Iwouldn't do this. She always did this to me, made me do things I didn't want to do, like turning around and facing her. Obviously she had now won the game, if it was still a game. She didn't even have to push more buttons, just the bigger one, and keep pushing it and pushing it until it pierced my already tightly strung skin. I saw the smirk on her face and I had to repress the urge to scratch it off. I walked towards her until I could almost touch her.

"How dare you, you…"

"How dare I what?, she asked innocently like a child with its hand in the cookie jar, say his name?" "Baraka", she spoke in a whisper and she repeated it. Every time she repeated it felt like a knife to the head. I grabbed my head in agony, and she stopped, and I quickly recovered then. " I should ask you the same, Mileena." "How dare you point out my shortcomings and not expect to get yours thrown into your face.

"Yes your almighty highness you assessment is correct I was blindly in love with him", I still couldn't say his name out loud it still pained me so, "but that was only because no one else had ever loved me before or after." "Everyone else who said they loved me have only used me." The last sentence spoken was quiet and dejected but no less angry and volatile. The anger faded from my sister's face and was replaced with hollow emptiness. My statement was a lie, we both knew it, but in the situation it didn't matter if it was true or not. She turned and walked away from me, to the winding concrete stairs that wound its way around the huge black palace. When she was halfway up the flight of stairs she spoke quietly back down, so quietly that I had to strain my already fine-tuned ears to comprehend:

"How does it feel to look in your mirror and see my face, the image of someone who never loved you?

I cocked my head to the side and half-smiled. Internally I was bleeding and dying. The silence lasted for a while when I called back just as quietly as she:

"Oh I don't know sister, about the same as you do when you look into yours, and see a failure."

She snorted disdainfully at my bitter answer and turned her back to me as she continued her ascent of the stairs. She faded from my vision and despite the pain in my mind I felt surprisingly more alert and happy. I so loved talking with Kitana even in argument. I smirked and turned back around and watched the dark sky filled with dazzling diamond-like stars. I closed my eyes and leaned into the wind, listening to it howl. It was like slaves in agony, crying in desperation and despair into an abyss that would not heed them.

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Well, how was it? Good or bad? Please tell me if you can. It would be most helpful. Take a minute and review. I want to know if I should leave it as is or add to it. Also: I will probably get back to the italicized part later.

–Ghostwriter155


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